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Many could think, why druidism? If there is Wicca that is the compilation of the entire pagan cultures that have existed. But druidism has something that makes it unique: The Awen, the inspiration that arrives to us and allow us to coexist the universe yet all together and in complete harmony. The druidism was a great oak that was cut by another religion and instead of him; the cross occupied its place. But a sprout has emerged from that piece of oak in the forest of the old religions, many already forgotten. And although that oak did not leave much land us in where to sink our roots, we continued growing with the aid of the time and the change of mentality that this undergoing the humanity in these days. Although the old religion has not left much us, by his geis (promises) of not writing the rites, the beliefs etc, they left the legends, stories, the poems that have passed through generations, the fruits of the inspiration of the old bards (Awen); and that has filled a little the lagoons to us that we have on the religion of the ancients druids: what which believed, which did, lo that studied, loved, which hated, in short, the culture of the old Celtic civilization, and only with a little bit of imagination we have been able to take roots in the old trunk of the great oak that once was the pillar of this great religion.
The ancient druids were the tops of the hierarchy of the society of Celts (they even had the word first that the king) by being somehow, the wisest people. They were their priests: they made the necessary rituals of their religion like the one of the stations: Samhain (New Year and the most important) that in Ireland for example, it was made in the great hill of Tara, place where the king of kings of all Eire resided (name that they gave to Ireland), the arch druids ignited a great bonfire after to have extinguished all those of the environs, thus meaning, the first fire of the new year, the one that purified and left all the old things back in the past. Time in which the ancestors of the families visited them. Time where the bards boasted of his more wonderful stories and poems, competing with others. Imbolc, time where the spring arrives at the Celtic universe, arrived the first light that towards backing down the dark of the time of Samhain (winter) and beginning of all the daily activities of the town. Beltane, the triumph of the light on the dark, the beginning of the summer, igniting two bonfires between which passed the cattle and people, as purification sign. Lughnasadh, the beginning of the autumn and the time of the harvest, time of the God Lugh, the God of the harvest. And thus the cycle renews again and again. The druids were masterful: they committed to his students from very early age in németons or sacred groves by 20 years and almost eternal contact with the nature that surrounded them, reason for which much in the society was admired to them and respected. To be as much time in contact with the nature allowed them to get to know each aspect thorough this world, the medicinal knowledge of the plants, its powers, the stars and contacts with the spirits of the nature and the people of Sidhe. They were judges, not punishing, but always trying to look for a balance in the case, like the balance that exists in the nature. They were wizards, they knew of the magic and the divination, by natural means: the flight of the birds, the clouds, and the fire of a bonfire, the blood of an animal that was sacrificed to the Gods, in aim. The beauty and the inspiration knew of that the Awen gave them to create its stories, legend and their poems. Doubtlessly they were great personages of history, admired by Greek and even by its greater enemy, Julio Caesar. The only problem here is that the druids distributed ALL their lessons by oral route, said that nothing that belonged to the nature, nor nothing that has been granted to him to them on the part of the nature had to be written by men. And that with the arrival of the Romans and later the Christianity went away muting until it reached silence…but always a whisper escapes and arrives to us from very far in the spider web of the time and gives the opportunity to us to cause that this beautiful religion appears again that takes as rule the love to which surrounds us, to respect it, to honor it, because we are part of it, The luminous union in Beltane. Once again, the light has the opportunity to illuminate our spirituality and to transport us to ancient times where bonfires in honor to Bel were ignited, to purify us and to prepare the cattle before taking them to the green pastures that had bloomed. The light has gained total control and has left back the dark that ruled before…fairies flutter between the shrubs while you resume your works. You hear them laughing and calling with mischievousness. You hear the beautiful music that emanates from the harp of a bard who walks towards the stop of a hill. Suddenly, somebody between the shrubs takes you from the hand, and without thinking, the dryad is taking you to the top of the hill, next to the bard who has stopped there. She leaves you quickly and walks down towards the other side... to be fused in the enormous bonfire that the druids have ignited to celebrate the marriage of the mother earth with the luminous Angus, the beautiful one, and the always young. The bard continues playing the harp that hypnotizes all the creatures of the forest so that they celebrate the light brightness that will give Angus to their mother, the one that has seen them birth, grow and run on its lap. Then you see more dryads mounted on white deer, riding toward you, surrounded by fairies that flutter between their hairs. They get to the top of the hill, yaw the eye to you and follow their way down hill. You decide to walk down also because you want to see the union of the light with the Earth that gives everything what you need to continue existing, to continue feeling the wind that is the breath of life of all the beings who inhabit the world. You begin to walk down then, dropping your scythe, cleaning your dirty hands, shaking your clothes and hearing the beautiful song of the bard that begins to follow you… and beyond him, more creatures enchanted by the beautiful melody. You arrive at the circle where the priests are reunited. They watch you coming, and smile to you as if they were hoping you to come. They lay the way to you so that you observe in the fire of the bonfire a great oak that has taken its roots on a beautiful spring of which drink all the creatures ...the fairies play between the branches of the tree covered with a beautiful green foliage, that, if you observe, its contour is done one with the light of the sun, illuminating the dryads dancing around the oak, following the song that celebrates the union of the light and the nature. | ~~~~ |